The story is provided by Friedrich Schiller’s powerful play of 1800 in which he imagines the scenes leading up to a meeting in 1587 between Elizabeth I and the ill-fated Mary, Queen of Scots. We all know that Queen Mary’s history ends on the scaffold, but Schiller gives us a juicy version of what might have happened in the days leading up to her execution. The script used in this production is a modern adaptation by noted playwright and scholar Peter Oswald, with language that effortlessly moves from prose into poetry.
The veteran cast, directed by Travis Walter, MBT artistic director, mines the words for all their latent drama. Indeed, it seems this show could work as a radio play, but that would be to miss out on Liz Moore’s sumptuous Elizabethan costumes – for both the men and the women – and spectacular scenic design by Brian Kessler.
“This is history with a twist,” explains Travis Walter. “I think our audience will find it exciting and intriguing. Things will happen on stage that have never happened at MBT before.”
In addition to a fun staging effect that opens Act Two (we won’t give it away) what caught us off guard was the social relevance of this 425-year-old story. In Mary Stuart, we see how vain, self-absorbed politicians fan the flames of religious intolerance to further their own political aspirations. (Apparently some things really don’t change.) In many ways, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary were players in a dangerous game that made it an act of treason to be caught praying the wrong way. In the end, for these two queens, the battle for survival eventually becomes one for personal redemption. Schiller would have us believe that only one Queen finds that ultimate moment of grace.
Happily, both queens have graced the MBT stage before: Julie Glander (Mary, Queen of Scotland) in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Ruth Crawford (Elizabeth, Queen of England) most recently in last season’s Ding Dong. The cast includes other faces familiar to MBT audiences: Trudy Mason (Hannah Kennedy), Paul Riopelle (Paulet), Thomas D. Mahard (Lord Burleigh), Hugh Maguire (Count Aubespine and Melvil), Mark Rademacher (Earl of Shrewsbury), Loren Bass (Earl of Leicester). It was a pleasure to see Hilberry Theatre alums Jordan Whalen (as the fanatical Mortimer) and Peter C. Prouty (in multiple roles, ranging from a guard to a French ambassador). New to the MBT stage were Meredith Gifford, Casey Hibbert, Rob Arbaugh and Andrew Danner.
Mary Stuart runs through March 4, with performances Wednesday through Sunday at Meadow Brook Theatre on the campus of Oakland University in Rochester. Check the MBT website for show times, which include a variety of matinee, early evening and 8 p.m. performances. Tickets range from $24 to $39 and are available by calling the box office at 248-377-3300 or going to Ticketmaster online. The schedule includes an American Sign Language interpreted performance on Wednesday, February 22 at 8 p.m.
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